Falling Through Time
by CoCoPixie134
Summary: Join the gang as they travel through time with the help of and old, worn, red photo album. It will reveal the happy, the sad, and the horrible. R&R! see trailer in Man Am I In Trouble.
1. Chapter 1

Falling Through Time 

**As/n: This is a story written but CoCoPixie134 and shancoot2. It's just a series of oneshots about the gang when they were young. Gabriella lived with the gang since they were little.**

An old photo album laid under a couch, collecting dust, fading, silently waiting for someone to open its pages but it never expected this…

Music was blaring through the speakers. People chatted and laughed as they clinked their glasses, toasting a great man, a father, a champion, a coach, a friend… They toasted to Jack Bolton, a man loyal to the end.

Gabriella and Troy were planning to stay home that night. Troy was in a funk… very understandable. Troy and Gabriella were cuddled together on the couch. Troy watched the fire crackle in the hearth; Gabriella watched Troy, scared half to death. He was acting stronger than he really was. Gabriella knew that. He was staying strong for her and no, it wasn't a guy thing… It was a protection thing. He had always been strong; he didn't have to prove it to Gabriella. This had hit him hard. His father, his best friend, was gone. Stress could only push someone so far… until they cracked.

The couple was silent until a knock on the door came, which broke them out of their trances. Exceedingly confused, they didn't move from the sofa. But Troy's best friend, Chad, wasn't one to wait. He opened the door and walked in, pulling his friend into a reassuring hug. He whispered words of comfort in Troy's ear:

"Everything'll be okay."

Troy nodded gravely as Chad pulled away, tears forming in his eyes. He brushed them away before anyone could see… or so he thought. Gabriella had watched his every move.

Then came the whole gang out of the blue. They walked in by pairs putting food on the tables, gifts on the floor, piling coats on the coat rack, and greeting the surprised couple.

Once the music started to play and the food was uncovered, the… shall we call it…mourning session began. Everyone was wondering about each other's lives, about their families but everyone had one question on their minds… why had Gabriella called them?

Yes, Gabriella invited everyone over and yes, it was all her plan. Troy was the one with no clue about what was going on but Gabriella was a convincing actress considering her theatrical background. Troy knew about what Gabriella was going to reveal to them but Troy never knew it would happen so soon.

Chad Danforth didn't like silence nor did he like the gloomy haze that seemed to fill the room. To break the tension he said, "Troy, you want to see a dance move I just learned?"

Chad did a crazy dance move and crashed into the couch, moving it ajar a few inches, exposing the corner of a dusty, red book.

Kelsi was the first one to notice it and pulled it out.

"Hey, guys," She said shyly.

The room's noise level overwhelmed her tiny voice, but Jason, however, had heard her and he knew how to get a room's attention.

"_Everybody!" _He bellowed. "_Look at what Kelsi found!"_

This made everyone's curiosity grow as they circled around Kelsi.

"What is it?" Ryan asked.

Troy, however, knew _exactly _what it was.

"Oh, guys, don't look at it," Troy begged. He knew his friends had no mercy. Well, the guys did and luckily Kelsi was a girl. Being the kind, soft-spoken girl she was, Kelsi started to hand the book to Troy but before it reached his hand Chad snatched it away.

Chad quickly placed it on the coffee table and flipped open the cover.

The first picture showed a younger version of the gang.

Chad was giving a worried looking Troy bunny ears. Taylor and Gabriella had their arms over each other's shoulders. Jason was laughing with Kelsi as Zeke waved happily at the camera. Ryan had a huge smile on his face, identical to his twin sister's. Sharpay had her arms thrown in the air like a Vegas showgirl popping out of a cake.

Everyone laughed very loudly at this washed out, yellow paper.

"Did I _really _act like that?" Sharpay asked.

"Yes," Everyone responded in unison.

"Gosh, Troy," Zeke said flipping through the photo album. "Did you keep _every _picture taken of us?"

Troy's ears reddened.

"I think it's cute," Taylor gushed.

"I can't believe how young we were!" Gabriella exclaimed. Troy's writing under the picture stated that they were in preschool when this photo was taken.

"Why do you look so nervous, Troy? Did _someone _get you anxious?" Chad joked, glaring at Sharpay.

"Hey, that's where I got my famous line!" Troy joked back.

"_I'm not ready to commit!_" The gang recited in unity. Everyone burst out laughing.

"You were a _weird _child, Troy," Jason laughed.

"Well, I got that from hanging out with you guys," Troy replied coolly. Everyone laughed again.

"How did that start?" Kelsi asked.

"Man, that's a _long _story," Troy said.

"We have a _long _time," Taylor pointed out.

Troy sighed and sat on the couch where he began to unravel the past…

East Oak Nursery School was silent. The smell of freshly used Play Dough wafted through the room. Toppled blocks were scattered on the floor where toy cars and trucks were thrown carelessly. Crayons and scribble pictures were set on the table along with two dolls, plastic fruit, three nickels, and a set of finger paints missing the purple and green.

The clock on the wall neared one o' clock. Naptime was almost over. Suddenly, a fit of giggles erupted on from the napping rug. Chad Danforth and Troy Bolton were wide-awake, smearing purple finger paint on Zeke Baylor's cheeks.

Footsteps padded over and the giggles ceased. Troy and Chad keeled over, closed their eyes tightly, and put their hands over their mouths to muffle their giggles.

"Children," The teacher, Carolyn Robin, said timidly. "It's time to wake up."

All the children, one by one, rose to see a smiling teacher. Her auburn hair stuck out boldly against her rosy cheeks. Miss Robin's bright blue eyes sparkled in the afternoon light, her smile dancing inside them. But her smile began to fade when she saw Troy and Chad's "masterpiece" on Zeke's face.

"Zeke," Miss Robin said calmly. "Go wash your face of in the bathroom."

Zeke walked confused into the bathroom. All of the four-year-olds laughed as he shut the door.

"Mr. Danforth, Mr. Bolton, may I see you at my desk for a moment?" Miss Robin asked, sitting down at her desk, hands folded in front of her.

As Chad and Troy walked over all the classmates giggled. Chad and Troy were notorious for being troublemakers. They weren't mean and they never did anything to hurt someone but they just stirred up trouble. They but blocks in the rabbit, Peter's, cage. They sang the wrong song during music class and their favorite thing to do was to use the finger paint to color on things.

Finally, after Chad and Troy got their lecture, snack time began.

Gabriella Montez and Taylor McKessie sat at a picnic bench adjacent to the playground.

"I wonder why Troy and Chad aren't in trouble?" Taylor said, watching the two boys look for somewhere to eat.

"Maybe the teacher likes them," Gabriella suggested, swinging her feet and munching on a carrot.

"No, they're too stupid," Taylor said simply. "It must be something else."

"You are determined to hate them, aren't you, Taylor?" Gabriella asked, rolling her bright brown eyes.

Even though Gabriella and Taylor were young their vocabularies were quite complex (for a four year old's standards). They were the only two in the class that could spell 'encyclopedia' and that was a huge accomplishment.

"I don't mind Troy but Chad dumped sand down my sundress!" Taylor exclaimed. "Would you forgive him?"

"Probably," Gabriella said. "Quiet, here they come."

Chad and Troy approached the table, Troy looking at his feet, Chad right into Gabriella's eyes.

"We have nowhere to sit," Chad said.

"Imagine that," Taylor grumbled.

"We- we were wondering if we could… if we could sit with you guys?" Troy said to his feet. "P-please?"

Gabriella couldn't help but like Troy. He may have been a troublemaker but he was a kind, shy little boy who just wanted to make friends.

"Sure," Gabriella said before Taylor could protest. "You can sit here." She moved her Barbie lunch box down the table and scooted over so the boys could sit down.

"Thank you," Troy said.

"Yeah, thanks," Chad said rather reluctantly.

Chad put his Ninja Turtle lunch box beside Taylor's 'Little Einstein' one. Troy but his Power Ranger lunchbox next to Gabriella's.

That's when Sharpay walked up. Rumor was she liked Troy and watching Troy sit with Gabriella and Taylor infuriated her. She stomped over in her brown cowboy boots and tapped it against the cement sidewalk.

Lowering her pink Barbie sunglasses she said, "Hey, Troy. You want to come sit with me?"

Troy looked very uncomfortable and said, "No thanks. I'm sitting with Gabriella and Taylor. You can sit with us if you want."

"You don't want to sit with your girlfriend?" Sharpay asked.

"I don't have a girlfriend," Troy said, perplexed.

"Yes, you do, silly! _I'm _your girlfriend!"

"But I'm not ready to commit!" Troy said and buried his head in his hands.

Taylor never really liked Sharpay. She was mean and she had the mentality of a bag of nails.

"Sharpay, they can sit wherever they want to. You can sit with us but they don't want to move," She snapped, rather like Sharpay.

Sharpay was taken back by this comment, especially from Taylor. She scoffed and turned on her heel. She stomped over to Ryan who was turning his newsboy cap around his head incessantly.

"I wonder where Zeke's going?" Gabriella wondered aloud.

Everyone turned and watched a very upset Zeke being guided by his father into a small red car but Zeke stopped and pulled out of his dad's grip. He ran over to their table.

"Guys, I don't want to go!" Zeke cried, tears streaming down his face.

"Go where?" Gabriella asked, putting her empty juice box on the table.

"They took my mommy!" Zeke screamed.

"Who did?" Troy asked, alarmed.

"The doctors! They took her and she isn't coming back!"

"Where'd they put her?" Chad asked.

"Somewhere where it's nice. Where she will be happy… that's what Daddy said but- but she was happy _here_! She didn't want to leave!" Zeke's dad had rushed up and picked him up. Putting the sobbing boy in his arms, he walked away and settled him in the car.

"Poor Zeke!" Gabriella cried. "Imagine having no mommy!"

Gabriella thought about what would happen if someone took her mommy or daddy. She was happy with them, and nothing would ever happen to them. She kept convincing herself that.

"She'll come back, won't she?" Chad asked.

"She isn't alive anymore, Chad," Taylor said grimly.

"But the doctors just _took her_. They didn't _kill _her!" Chad didn't like this thought. Troy, on the other hand, was staring silently at the table. He knew what had happened. He had seen it all before…

"No, Chad… she's gone," Taylor said.

The rest of snack time they sat in silence. Not until the teacher called them did they move. Numbly walking back to the classroom, all the children were stony faced and panic stricken. No one said a word as the children walked in the room.

The friends could tell that nothing would ever be the same… but what they didn't know was the more tragedies awaited them just around the corner.

**As/n: What do you think? Just so you know… there are three authors for this story: Pixie, Coot (or CoCo), and Shan. These are oneshots… this one was particularly long because it had the introduction but they won't always be this long and they won't be extremely often but don't worry. They'll come! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Because They Don't Care 

The old photo album felt its pages being turned… with every turn a new memory released… the next memory that the friends would endure would not make them happy but it would make them strong.

The gang laughed, even though they were there for purposes that weren't so happy. They couldn't help it. The pictures were so funny… they were so young so… different.

One picture made the laughing cease. Everyone wore all black. Chad was standing, glass raised high (sparkling water… they were too young to drink at the time) toasting another life lost… a life unwanted.

…

…

"I'm sorry, Jay," Chad said, pulling his friend into a hug. "She was a great kid."

"Yeah," Jason sighed, looking down at her empty face. "Yeah. She was."

A tear fell down his face. This was all too much. It happened so fast. _One _screw up from Jason led to _this_. Led to him standing there, alone, his little sister gone forever.

"I'm so sorry, Jason. I know how much she meant to you," Gabriella said quietly. She too had grown to like Caitlyn. She was a cute little girl, always happy and willing to help.

But then came the dreaded question:

"I want to say something to your parents. Where are they?" Taylor said, clutching her black purse tightly.

"They aren't here," Jason said bitterly, turning his back on his friends and resting his hands on the side of the coffin.

"_Aren't here?_" Kelsi repeated, incredulously. "Where are they?"

"I don't know," Jason chocked, trying to hide the tears threatening to pour out of his eyes and the lump rising in his throat. "I don't care either."

"Jason…" Kelsi soothed, rubbing her hand on the small of his back. "Of course you care, you're just upset."

"Of course I'm _upset, _Kelsi," Jason shouted angrily. "I'm _upset_ that my little sister is _dead! _I'm _upset _that my life has just crashed with her! I'm _upset _that the kid sister I've spent my entire life raising is gone because of something _I _did! I'm _upset _that my parents aren't here because they felt they had _better_ things to do!"

He was breathing heavily now. The tears were now trailing down his cheeks. This wasn't the Jason his friends knew. They knew Jason as a happy boy, a great brother, an amazingly loyal friend…not this; this sad boy, an upset brother, a crying friend. It wasn't their friend. It was scaring them.

"Jason," Sharpay said quietly, "Jason, I'm really sorry about all this but you can't blame yourself."

"Yeah, Jay," Ryan agreed. "You didn't know that this would happen. It's not your fault."

"If I would've just paid more attention… she wouldn't be dead! She wouldn't be gone!" Jason shouted, knuckles white on the side of the casket.

"Your parents will be here soon, Jason," Zeke said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "They'll help you."

"No, they won't, Zeke," Jason said, shaking his head. Tears fell on the floor.

"How do you know?" Gabriella asked, twisting a tissue in her hands.

"_Because my parents don't care that she's gone!_" Jason bellowed.

It was silent for a moment.

"They don't care about me or Caitlyn," Jason said more quiet now. "They called me a mistake… Caitlyn a mistake… we were just screw-ups in their lives and they don't want us. They never did."

It was Troy's turn to speak.

"We do," he said, turning towards the casket. "We care about you… and Caitlyn. She was a great kid, Jason. You did a great job raising her."

That's when Jason broke down crying.

"Life is cruel," He said through his sobs.

"I know the feeling," Zeke said quietly. "You feel empty, like if you would've been there nothing would have happened. You feel like your life is going to end because she's gone? Like it's your fault when it reality you know you're just trying to cope with the pain?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry, guys, especially you, Zeke. You have it harder than I do," Jason said, wiping his eyes.

"Can I give you some advice that a friend gave me a long time ago?" Zeke asked. "She's not gone. She'll never be gone as long as you believe in her as long as she's alive in her. Don't stop living because she's gone, strive harder to survive because you owe it to her."

Jason looked at Zeke.

"I said that to you in 8th grade," Jason reminisced. "When your mom had been dead for nine years."

"Yeah, and I've always remembered it," Zeke said, hugging his friend. "You can do it. You can get through this."

"Yeah. I can," Jason said. "Because I have you guys."

…

…

Tears had gathered in Jason's eyes.

"Wow." He said. "Has it really been that long?"

"Jason…" Kelsi started to say.

"No. I'll be fine," Jason said. "This is for Troy."

"Jay, it's fine. I'm okay. Go ahead," Troy said.

Jason cried for the loss of a sister, a friend, a companion, but must importantly he cried for love. The love of which he had been deprived of since he was young, the love that his little sister had given him which was now given to him by his friends who would always care for him… for better and for worse.


	3. Chapter 3

**As/n: This is a VERY long chapter. Okay, we would like to start out with, thanks for reviewing… we appreciate it! Keep on reviewing. Then… our disclaimer: **

**Disclaimer: Obviously… we don't own HSM… if we did, we'd be in it… which we aren't… unfortunately.**

**Look for the Authors' Notes at the bottom of the story.**

**His Hero**

Another page gone, another story told, the book raveled out everyone's pasts with nothing that could be hidden. A picture's worth a thousand words… his story… is worth a thousand tears.

Zeke carefully flipped the next page of the book. Suddenly, a small, yellowed, paper fell out of the bind.

"Hey, Troy," Ryan said, picking up the delicate paper. "Look at this."

He handed it over to Troy who read with interest, his expression confused. His eyes flitted to the photo album, slowly back to the note, and quickly back to the photo album.

"Oh, guys," Troy said quickly, stuffing the note in his pocket. "Let's flip the page."

"Wait," Sharpay said, curiosity getting the better of her. "What'd the note say?"

Troy would've given _anything _for someone not to ask that question.

"It was just a note from my mom. Apparently she found out where I was hiding the photo album, and put a picture in," Troy said as earnestly as he could, trying again to flip the page.

"What pic…" Chad began, but he stopped when he saw the picture in the book. "Troy's right. Next page," He quickly said, his face burning.

Taylor pulled his wrist quickly away from the book.

"Why can't we see the- oh my gosh…" Taylor said, discovering the picture.

"What?" Gabriella asked. "What's going on?"

"Troy," Taylor said slowly, carefully peeling the picture out of the book and holding it closer to her face. "Why do you have this?"

Everyone looked at the picture and turned leisurely towards Troy. Troy went shaking to the couch and sat down.

"I don't… I don't… I don't think we need to worry about the picture," Troy said. "It's nothing. Can I just have it and we just forget about it?" Troy asked, his hand out to receive the picture.

"Wait a minute… Troy… are you _crying _in this picture?" Gabriella asked, tearing it out of Taylor's hands.

The picture had a very blurred background but clear as daylight was Troy, tears streaming down his face, his hand up as to push the camera away.

"Why are you crying?" Kelsi asked.

"Guys…" Chad started to warn.

"Oh, it's probably just because we lost a championship game or something," Jason teased.

"No… it's uh- it's nothing," Troy said yet again. "My dad and I had a little bit of a fight…"

" "A little bit of a fight"?" Zeke said. "As in fight-fight or as in I'm-a-teenager-and-I-don't-like-my-parents fight?"

"I don't want to explain," Troy said with a sideways look at Gabriella.

"Wait… I'm just guessing that I don't know about this?" Gabriella said, noticing Troy's glance at her.

"Troy," Ryan said, "I'm sure it's no big deal."

"Oh, it is… _trust me_," Troy assured them.

"Chad knows," Jason stated, looking at Chad who was currently bright red and trying to bury his face in his hands.

At this point, Troy walked over to the doorway leading into the kitchen. His back to his friends, he said, "It was a long time ago… I-I can't believe it happened but it did…"

…

…

"Dad?" Troy asked, slipping into his study. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, Troy," Mr. Bolton said. "Sit down. I need to talk to you."

Troy cringed at these words, knowing something bad was about to happen. He slid into a big, brown, leather chair facing his father's desk.

"You've been seeing Gabriella a lot lately," Mr. Bolton started his lecture, laying his pen down on his desk, his work incomplete. "Haven't you?"

"Well…yeah…" Troy began.

"And you haven't started _dating _her, have you?" Jack interrupted.

"No… not yet," Troy said, still not knowing where this conversation was going.

" "Not yet"?" Mr. Bolton repeated. "You want to date her in the future?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, Gabi and I…" Troy started.

"Gabriella," Mr. Bolton corrected. "She is a human, not a pet."

"Okay… _Gabriella _and I have been friends for a long time now and I've really gotten to know her. I _really _like her, Dad," Troy said happily, unaware of the frown appearing on his father's face. "And she likes me, too, so I'm _hoping _that…"

"What about Ms. Evans?" Mr. Bolton interrupted yet again. "She likes you. Why don't you like her back?"

"Well, sorry, Dad. But Sharpay's kind of a snob," Troy said, very confused on what his father was trying to get to. "I mean… I'm not getting _married _or anything… I'm not ready to commit but… I mean… taking Gabriella to get some pizza and watching a movie… it's not that bad, is it?"

"Troy," Mr. Bolton snarled. "I am _very _disappointed in you!"

"Huh?" Troy was taken back by this comment. What had he done that was so disappointing?

His dad was now on his feet. Troy felt himself tense in his chair when his father's hand clamped onto his shoulder, his face was inches from his own face.

"How is it," Mr. Bolton snapped, "that you like this-this _girl_ that has done nothing for you?"

" "Nothing for me"?" Troy asked, his voice trembling a bit. "Gabriella has done everything for me… she cares about me, she talks to me like I'm a person, not a basketball star… she noticed me when I was invisible…she showed me love, Dad…" Troy started to explain but his father didn't want him to finish what he had started to say.

Instead, his shoved him to his feet and away from the desk; Troy's back now inches from the wall.

"You do _not _love her, Troy. Do you understand?" He screamed.

"Dad, quiet," Troy said, scared.

"You will _not _tell me to be quiet, do you hear me?" Mr. Bolton bellowed. "I am _not _going to take your back talk… no… I'm not going to hear anything at all from you or there will be consequences, you got it?"

Troy shook his head 'yes'. He was beyond scared now… he was terrified. Sure, his father had yelled at him before but _never _had his father gone so far as to _threaten _him. He was buckling under the weight of his father's hand, still grasping his shoulder, fingernails digging into his skin. Troy could feel his muscles slowly starting to stiffen, his father's arm now pushing his arm backwards. Troy was sure that his arm was going to pop out of his socket if his dad pushed any harder. He made a sharp intake of breath when his dad let go off his shoulder.

Troy was sure by now his mother would have come but then he realized that his mother was visiting his Aunt Peggy out in Santa Fe for two days. His father had picked the best night to be aggravated. No one would hear his father's screams but more importantly to Troy, no one would hear _his _screams.

"That girl has been trouble ever since you met her…" Mr. Bolton began, turning his back on Troy, starting to pace.

"You know," Troy said, forgetting his silence. "_That girl _has a name!"

Mr. Bolton swung around and smacked Troy in the face, not hard enough to bruise but hard enough to make him scratch, bleed, stagger, and shut up.

"I told you _not to talk_!" His dad hollered.

Troy was horrified that his father was doing this. What had driven this binge of wickedness?

A sideways glance at his dad's desk gave him the answer. An empty bottle of wine was tipped over sideways, an unfilled wineglass at its side.

Troy looked at his hands, they were smeared with blood… his blood. Troy panicked. _This is not good._

His dad kept speaking, "I've told you again and again not to hang out with her, that that girl would only lead to trouble." He shot a glance at Troy as if daring him to speak. Troy didn't, of course, so he started again. "And now I hear that you _love _this girl and that you want to _date her. _I'm going to say something, Troy, and I don't want you to forget it: As long as you live in _my_ house and live under _my _rules, you will _not _see this girl!"

"What?" Troy said awestruck, still wiping the ongoing rush of blood off his cheek. He then realized his mistake and cringed, waiting for the blow but it never came, instead his father whirled around, his face with an expression that didn't fit him. An expression Troy had never seen his father have: an expression… of hatred.

"You will _never _see that girl again, speak to her, look at her, even _think _about her. She was trouble from the start and I knew it. I never said anything but now I am. …If you see her, Troy, you will wish that you had listened to me because whatever would be coming your way wouldn't be worth it."

"Why are you doing this?" Troy asked, tears threatening to fall.

"Troy, Troy, Troy," His father chuckled. "I don't _want _to do this but I also don't want you seeing Miss Montez… I always get my way, Troy, you know that. And this is my way: you are not to see her."

"Dad, what's so wrong with her?" Troy asked, now screaming along with his dad.

"_Everything!_" He answered but this still didn't satisfy Troy.

"Why can't I see her, Dad?" Troy asked more quietly, his voice hitched quietly as the tears silently fell, mingling with the blood on his face, dropping onto his shirt with a feeling of doom, a sense of sadness. Every tear seemed to make Troy feel stronger, made him want Gabriella even more than he ever had. Troy could hear his heart beat in his ears, feel the beats in his chest.

"_Because I said so!_" Jack screamed.

A silence fell upon the room, the dreaded words cursing the air. The sting of his words sliced through Troy's mind, the actions deadening Troy's heart.

"Out," His father said shakily.

"Huh?"

"_Get out!_" He bellowed.

Troy slowly went to the door, his footsteps the only thing he heard. Suddenly a loud crash went through the air as something hit the wall and shattered.

Troy whirled around and stared at his father's livid face. Mr. Bolton was breathing heavily. Troy noticed the shattered glass on the floor as a picture, the one that had always sat on his desk with pride. Troy was always smiling up at his dad in that picture but now it lay on the ground, hidden from the world, in shame.

"If you see her, I will find out," Mr. Bolton said, menacingly. He was now using his desk for support. "If you see her… you are no son of mine."

Troy rushed out of the room and to the only place he knew he would be safe: his bedroom…his roof.

Troy ran to his room and slammed the door behind him. Quickly, he opened the window and popped out the screen, throwing it carelessly on the ground. Troy scrambled out the window and onto the roof without bothering to close the window.

Troy sat on the black shingles and pulled his knees up to his chest. He let out a shudder and started to cry.

Unluckily… he did not remember that his best friend, Chad Danforth, would be arriving at his house in exactly two minutes and thirty-three seconds. He did not remember, either, why he would care.

Chad arrived at Troy's house and knocked on the door. He waited impatiently for less than thirty seconds and walked in. He didn't like to be kept waiting. Besides, he had known Troy for so long that he knew the garage combination (0522) … he knew what brand of _milk _Troy got (Pevely Farms), he even knew Troy's favorite number (4 but his _lucky _numberwas 14). All in all, he knew his friend backwards, forwards, inside out… but he was _not _prepared for this.

Chad pulled a digital camera out of his backpack, hoping he would catch Troy doing something embarrassing, like… coming out of the shower for instance with just a towel wrapped around his waist. Chad laughed at the memory of that. He had posted in on his MySpace but immediately took it off when Troy flashed a picture of Chad when he was three in a pink tutu and threatened to put it on the school bulletin. (Plus, Chad was afraid Troy would beat him within an inch of his life… Troy was much stronger than he was.)

He climbed stealthily up the stairs and turned on the camera. Chad walked into his room but suddenly noticed an absence… Troy. Chad looked around the room, confused. Where was Troy? Then, he heard a muffled noise from the window.

Of course, Troy was on the roof. It was his favorite place to go to do… just about anything. Chad laughed. He imagined Troy singing with a fake microphone and dancing so he got ready to click.

Silently, he climbed through the window.

Troy heard the disturbance and looked over to see Chad with a camera, ready to take a picture. Instinct told him to shove Chad off the roof. Reflexes told him to slap the camera off the side of the house. Common sense told him to stop the camera before the picture was taken.

Troy took common sense.

"Chad!" He said loudly, flinging his hand out to grab the camera and _click_.

Chad had gotten a picture of Troy crying.

Chad started to laugh because he hadn't realized what he had done. Troy however, was horrified but too shocked to do anything. Chad stopped laughing when he looked at Troy's face.

"Dude… are you okay?" He asked, stepping closer to his friend.

"Just peachy," Troy said glumly, sniffling.

"Seriously… you don't looked so good," Chad said, now sitting down on Troy's side.

Troy turned away.

"Thanks," He said bitterly.

"Troy… what happened?" Chad asked, grabbing his friend by the shoulder in an attempt to get him to look him in the eye. He released his grip when he heard Troy groan shortly and felt his muscles tense up. "Sorry," Chad said honestly. "Troy… you need to tell me… what's wrong? What happened?"

Troy's response was turning and looking Chad in the face. Chad gasped when he saw him.

Troy's hair was a mess; his face was scratched deeply, not to mention the pepper of cuts from the falling glass. His cheeks and nose were bright pink and his eyes were swollen and wet, tears still trailing down his face.

"Tough night," Troy said, with a small laugh. "Let's get inside and get some food. I'm starving…"

"Not until you tell me what's going on," Chad said, blocking Troy's way to the window.

"Oh, come on, Chad," Troy said desperately. "This is stupid."

Troy tried to find his way around Chad but couldn't. He was trapped.

"If it's so stupid, then take off your shirt," Chad said, crossing his arms defiantly.

"What?"

"Take off the shirt, Troy."

"I'm standing on my roof for the entire neighbor to see and you want me to _take off my shirt_," Troy asked incredulously.

"Yup. Go ahead, if it's so stupid," Chad said, knowing he was getting to his friend.

Troy sighed and pulled off his shirt.

"Happy?"

Chad walked up to his friend and sighed. On Troy's shoulder were fingernail marks. His shoulder was bright pink and a bruise, about the size of Chad's palm was forming.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," Chad said.

"If I do, can I do it inside?" Troy asked hopefully.

"Nope. Right here. You are _not _getting away from me," Chad said shaking his head.

"Can I at least have my shirt back," Troy asked, looking down at his bare chest.

Chad laughed. "Yeah right," He said. "You aren't going to tell me anything unless I have something to bribe you with."

Troy exhaled noisily and sat on the shingles again. Chad, although the circumstances permitted it, laughed. Clad in just a pair of jeans and tennis shoes, Troy looked funny, a captive on his own roof.

Troy told Chad the story, leaving out pieces he wanted to keep to himself… well, _trying _to leave out pieces he wanted to keep to himself. Every time he skipped something, Chad would look knowingly at him and say, "So what aren't you telling me?"

It was dark when Troy finally finished his story. Chad put a reassuring hand on Troy's unhurt shoulder.

"It's going to be alright, Troy," He said.

Troy didn't even know when he had started crying. But he had but what he didn't know was that he was going to cry even more when his dad revealed a secret the next day, unknowing that his only son was listening…

It was five in the morning and Troy woke up after an awful dream. Quietly, he went down the stairs and into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed out a carton of chocolate milk and poured himself a glass.

**As/n: We want everyone to know that what happens in this phone conversation is an opinion… not OUR opinion but some peoples… we don't want anybody angry with us because we promise… we don't like discrimination.**

He heard low murmurs come from his dad's study. Curiosity got the better of Troy as he walked towards the room. The door was wide open. Quietly, he leaned against the wall so he could hear the conversation.

"Look… I'm having some problems tonight," Troy heard his dad say.

"Yeah, my son is falling in love with a _Hispanic _girl… yes, _Hispanic._ I don't know what to do. I mean, I threatened him… I even slapped him… I don't know why I did… I didn't mean to… I guess it was the alcohol… I _hate_ the Hispanic, George," Mr. Bolton said. "As do you, but now my son is _in love _with one-one of _them_! I don't know how I'm going to keep him away from her but I have to. I will _not _have my son, my _only _son, be with her… it's just too awful to discuss."

Troy stood in the doorway. His father dropped the phone and quickly hung it up.

"So that's what this is about?" Troy asked. "Her ethnic?"

"N-no, Troy," Mr. Bolton began.

"I can't believe you!" Troy cut him off. "_You're_ racist and _I _have to pay for it? I have to stay away from Gabriella because she's _Hispanic_?"

"What happened to your shoulder?" Mr. Bolton asked, very concerned.

Troy looked down at his bare chest. He had forgotten that he had fallen asleep in just a pair of plaid boxers and basketball shorts. His father had noticed the bruise, the nail marks worn away.

"What do you care?" Troy spat.

"Troy, I care a great d-," Mr. Bolton stopped. "Troy, I'm sorry."

"No, you aren't," Troy said, crying now. "Or you wouldn't have done it."

"You're face…I-."

"Yeah," Troy said in a shaky voice. "You did that, too."

"I'm guessing Chad knows," Mr. Bolton said, sitting down and shaking slightly.

"Yeah, because he _cares_," Troy said, wiping his tears. "…Unlike you."

"Troy, you can't-," Mr. Bolton started.

"For all anyone else knows, I flipped off my bike," Troy said, answering his father's unfinished comment. "And for all I know…"

H trailed off and stared his dad in the eyes. The last of his tears trailed down his face.

"I hate you."

Troy turned his back on his father, his best friend, his coach…

His hero.

…

…

Troy looked at his friends, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I never forgave him," Troy said, crying. "Ever… and I'll never get the chance."

Gabriella was crying, too.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked through her sobs. "Why did you do all this for me?"

"You do crazy things for love," Troy said, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a small kiss on the top of her head.

"And look…" Gabriella said, looking closely at the picture. "There's the cut… and the scar."

She ran her finger along the worn scar on Troy's right cheek. She sniffed and said, "You told me that you flipped off your bike, just like you told your father."

Troy sighed, "Yeah, I did."

"Let's turn the page," Sharpay suggested in a voice that somehow reminded everyone of the Vegas showgirl act.

Everyone started laughing and crying at the same time, "We've been friends too long!" Jason said.

And so the page was turned, the memories not forgotten, but somehow… washed away as they tried to forget the man they mourned for and the truth that was still there…

**As/n: Again, we are NOT racist! We've been judged before, too. (It was a mistake) In your review, we want to know what you thought the 'truth that was still there…' was referring to. We would like to know what you thought.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Teenage Dramas are Bigger than We Think 

The book still had its stories, some hidden, some alive… some were simple, most complex… this story was one… of pain.

Sharpay had flipped the page quickly to chase away the memory that was still alive unknowingly opening a new story that changed one person forever.

"This is my favorite page!" Troy said, looking at the book.

Three small pictures in a row:

Sharpay with braces.

Chad with glasses.

And everyone laughing at a very embarrassed Troy.

"Oh my gosh! Give me that picture, Bolton!" Sharpay screamed.

Troy lifted the book out of her reach.

"Oh, no!" Troy teased. "I'm getting teased, too!"

Everyone laughed and then…

BAM!

Troy flew to the floor, Chad on his back.

"Give it to me!" Chad teased him.

"Ow, Chad, you're on my hand!" Troy said. "I'll give you the book but have mercy on my poor fingers! You're breaking them!"

Both got off the floor laughing.

"God," Troy said, rubbing his ribs. "You've gained some weight since college!"

Everyone oooohed in appreciation of this weight jab but Chad ignored it.

"Maybe it's just muscle!" He said.

"Yeah, and maybe I'm the Queen of England," Ryan quipped.

"You look like such a dork, Chad!" Zeke said. "I like the braces… my loving wife whom I love oh so very much… love." Zeke said when he realized he was making fun of his wife.

"You're hilarious," She said icily and sat on the couch huffily. "You know, no one is making fun of Troy right now! I say we make fun of him!"

"Yeah!" Chad agreed.

"Troy was a dork. We all know that!" Jason said. "What were we laughing at you for this time?"

Taylor burst out laughing as she looked at the picture.

"I know exactly what we were laughing at!" She said. "Okay, it was ninth grade…"

…

…

Troy walked into the school as quickly as he could. The day passed and he remained completely silent. Everyone noticed this and became worried. He was very talkative and a vow of silence was worrying.

"Maybe he just worried about basketball?" Kelsi said.

"Or maybe he's sick?" A very worried Gabriella suggested.

"Or _maybe _he was abducted by aliens and they took his vocal chords!" Chad teased. But silently he was very worried, probably more than his friends. The last time he fell into a fit of silence…

"You think?" Ryan asked seriously.

Everyone stared at him.

"What?"

"Well, it's lunch time so we might as well ask him then," Taylor said reasonably.

"Okay," Jason said. "Hey, Troy!" He bellowed from across the hall. "Come over here!"

"Jason!" Zeke said. "We were going to wait until lunch!"

"I don't feel like waiting until lunch. I'm going to ask him now," Jason replied and looked at Troy who was now approaching.

"Okay, Troy, what's going on?" Jason asked quickly.

Troy didn't speak.

"Alien got your tongue?" Ryan asked.

"I'm _fine_," Troy said and he covered his mouth.

**As/n: Italics are squeaks… yes… squeaks in Troy's voice.**

"What was that?" Sharpay asked.

Troy shook his head.

"Come on, say something you're worrying us," Gabriella said.

"Guys, I'm _per_fectly okay," He said, blushing deeply.

"What's up with your voice?" Ryan asked.

"_Noth_ing!" Troy defended.

"Oh my God, Troy! Is your voice _cracking?_" Taylor asked, causing everyone to laugh.

"Guys, it's not fun_ny_!" Troy said, face bright red.

"Oh come on, it's perfectly normal, Troy," Gabriella said. "Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, Squeaky!" Chad joked.

Everyone but Troy laughed. Even Gabriella.

"Guys, come on! _Stop_!" Troy said. Everyone laughed more.

"Troy's a man!" Sharpay teased.

"_Stop _it!" Troy said.

"Can I call you Squeakers?" Gabriella asked, teasing.

This was one joke too far. Troy took off down the hall, separating numerous cliques as they walked down the hall.

"I think we should apologize," Kelsi said. "We shouldn't have laughed at him."

"Oh, come on," Jason said. "We were kidding!"

"Yeah, well, it wasn't very funny to Troy," Gabriella said, a worried voice taken over. "You wouldn't like it either! Remember, _Chad_?"

Everyone looked over at Chad. He looked upon all of his friend's quizzical faces.

"Okay, wait a minute! That's not fair," Chad said, stomping his foot. "That was _seventh _grade!"

Sharpay snorted, "Oh yeah! Mr. Metal Teeth."

Everyone looked at her with a knowing expression, and Taylor spoke, "I wouldn't be saying anything if I were you. Remember, Four eyes?"

Chad, taking this opportunity to jab back at Sharpay, said in a very high-pitched voice, "Four eyes are better than two! Humph!" he then walked prissily away on his tip-toes, and everyone laughed.

…

…

Everyone was rolling on the floor laughing and shouting, "Encore!" to Chad who got up and imitated himself.

Still laughing, they turned the page. Their smiles dissolved when they saw the picture.

"I'll be back; we need more… uh, salsa," Kelsi said, getting up. Troy followed her after a few seconds. He found her in the kitchen pouring out salsa into a bowl along with her tears.

Troy hugged her, "Kelsi, I'm really sorry. It's okay now, everything's better."

Kelsi nodded and blinked her eyes a few times. She handed him the bowl of salsa, and they walked back to the room together. Jason got up when they came in and held Kelsi close to him, softly kissing her head and gently rocking her.

After that, everyone decided to take a break for a while, leaving the photo album on the table. Its pages were open, still, to a picture of everyone crowded around Kelsi, who was lying in a hospital bed. A pastel-colored sign in the background read "Cancer can't bring Kelsi down!"


	5. Chapter 5

**As/n: Okay, here's the next chapter. Nothing more to say except the poem is original, and it was written by Pixie.**

**Chapter 5: The Fear of Falling**

_Another page, another memory_

_Another hardship and heartbreak_

_Where can we hide from the fears of this life?_

_Where can we go to get rid of the strife?_

_In the arms of a friend, we can cry all we want_

_In the mercy of an enemy, we can only cry and grunt_

_But the true test of life cannot be written in a scrawl_

_The true test of life is, for a friend, are you afraid to fall?_

After a while, everyone sat down by the photo album once more. The last sentences of conversations were just dying away when Ryan said, "I remember this. Maybe we should skip it…" he was cut off by Taylor.

"We haven't skipped anything else, Ryan," she pointed out.

Everyone leaned over to see the picture, and they stared at the top Ryan's head. He was sitting on the floor with his face on his knees.

…

…

_Everyone was at the school Mardi gras dance; the girls in crazy colored dresses and the guys wearing anything goofy. Many people were dancing, but some where sitting on the sides of the gym. These people included Ryan and Sharpay Evans (Sharpay because she didn't feel well), Callie Greensburg, and Kelsi Neilson._

_Jason came over to Kelsi and begged her to get up and dance, so she left with him. A few minutes later, Bobo Morris came over and pleaded with Callie to dance, but she refused. Callie had been one of the only people to not accept the changes in the status quo. (The book she was reading _upside-down_ had confused her little pea-brain.)_

_Martha Cox came running out from the crowd of dancers, earning a look of disdain from Callie and a smile from Ryan. "Hey, Ryan! You have got to come and dance! It's awesome," she said, almost out of breath._

_Ryan looked at Sharpay who shouted, "Go; leave me alone!"_

_Ryan ran back into the crowd with Martha, leaving Sharpay alone with Callie, who moved over closer to Sharpay._

"_So, Sharpay," she said in an extremely girly voice, "what is up with you, girl? I hear your crush on Mr. Hottie McSuperbomb is still going strong," she batted her eyelashes and put her head on her fist._

_Sharpay looked her dead in the eye, "Callie, get over yourself. Hate to break it to you, honey, but you're not the head cheerleader."_

"_Sharpay! Why did you even get to decide?"_

_Sharpay put on a puppy-dog face, "Because I have a talent for these things," she said, imitating Callie._

_Callie stood up over Sharpay, "You are going to be sorry you said that, Sharpay!"_

_Sharpay stood up to her full height and looked down at Callie and said, "Oh really?" then she stalked away._

_Forty feet away, the rest of the gang (plus a few more) were dancing like crazy until Troy suggested that they go up on the temporary stage to dance. They all went running up to the stage and climbed on, everyone except for Gabriella, who stayed right next to the front of the stage._

_Also on the stage was Callie. She was walking from side to side, flipping her hair and occasionally spinning around. When she saw the gang come on the stage she had a terribly brilliant plan for revenge on Sharpay… because Callie knew the drama queen's biggest weakness._

_Troy was jumping around crazily and Chad was doing something really, really weird with his feet. Taylor and Kelsi were dancing around the madness of the boys while Ryan danced up front near the edge of the stage. Jason had already gone off to get a drink and Zeke was looking for Sharpay._

_Gabriella was laughing at Troy's imitated ballerina jump when she saw Callie dancing her way over to Ryan, "Dance with me, Ryan!" she shouted._

_No one paid attention to Callie and Ryan dancing. Taylor and Kelsi ran out of the gym to go find Jason who was know looking for Zeke who was looking for Sharpay who was looking for Callie._

_Chad and Troy were getting tired, and Gabriella was about to leave to join Troy when Sharpay ran through the doors just in time to see Callie pushing Ryan off the stage. She shouted, "Stop!" _

_The whole gym seemed to go silent and happen in slow motion as Gabriella spun around, Zeke, Taylor, Kelsi, and Jason ran into the gym, Troy, Chad, and Sharpay ran for the stage, Ryan fell, and Gabriella lunged forward and fell to the ground just in time to break Ryan's fall._

_Troy, Chad, and Sharpay got to where their two friends were laying on the ground just seconds later. The rest of their friends (and the school) joined them right after that, everyone except Callie that is. She was sneaking out of the gym through the back doors. She was almost there when Jason spotted her and the entire basketball team was running after her._

"_Someone call an ambulance!" Sharpay shouted, her voice high-pitched and cracking._

…

…

Ryan leaned over to hug his sister. Her face was pale in remembrance.

…

…

_"Mrs. and Mr. Evans, you may come in to see Ryan," the two adults walked into the room, Sharpay following them, "Miss, family only please."_

_Sharpay looked up at the man, "Do I resemble anyone to you? In any slight way, do I remind you of someone?"_

_The doctor stared hard, "Maybe the boy in there," he said, pointing inside the room where her family was._

_Sharpay replied in the voice hard as stone, "Maybe that's because he's my twin."_

_The doctor moved away from the door, "My mistake, ma'am."_

_"Yeah, that's what I thought."_

_Another doctor came into the room and began to speak, "Ryan is just fine. A bit of a headache and some fatigue is the worst he got of the fall. No broken bones, maybe a few bruises, but that's it. Do any of you have any questions?"_

_Mrs. Evan's straightened up a bit, "When is he being let out?"_

_"Everything's finished, so he doesn't need to stay any longer at all."_

_Ryan looked up, "What about Gabriella?"_

_"Her situation is quite different," the doctor nodded and left._

_"I want to stay here!" Ryan cried._

_His mother looked down at him, "You have to go home and get some rest. Staying here is just going to make you feel worse. You can come back when you're feeling better, Ryan, but you're going home now."_

_"Mom, it's my fault she's even here!"_

_"No, it's not; it's Callie Greensburg's fault. We'll be waiting outside the door for you."_

_After they had left, Ryan looked at Sharpay, "Sharpay, why are you crying? I'm fine."_

_"Just look at yourself, Ryan! You're not fine at all."_

_"Shar, it's Callie's fault."_

_She looked up from her hands, "No, not if you trace it back far enough."_

_"Who could you possibly trace it back to?"_

_"Myself. If I hadn't made someone else head cheerleader, she wouldn't have gotten angry at me. If she hadn't gotten angry at me, you wouldn't be here," Sharpay was crying harder now._

_"Sharpay, you're the one who should go home."_

_"I'm staying here."_

…

…

Sharpay bit her lip to keep herself from crying. No one else knew the emotions she had felt then. There was nothing else she _could_ do except stay there. She didn't even think about going home to sleep; not that she'd be able to anyway.

…

…

_Everyone spent every minute at the hospital with Gabriella for the next two days. Everyone was there except, of course, Ryan, who was forced to stay home._

_After two days of being stuck at home when all of his friends were at the hospital with Gabriella was making Ryan crazy. He was the only person who hadn't talk to her since she regained consciousness which was after he had already left. _

_Ryan walked down the stairs, a breakfast tray in his hands. He spotted his mother reading a fashion magazine, "Mom, I'm going to the hospital. Thanks, I knew you'd understand! Bye, Mom."_

_Ryan set down the tray and raced out the door, his mother chasing after him, "Ryan! I didn't say that you could go! Come back here this instant! Ryan Evans!" she even chased him after he was in his car, but finally she turned back. _

_…_

_Ryan ran through the hallway of the hospital to the room that his friend was in. The bright colors on the walls were just a blur to him. It was a wonder he didn't run into anything. He reached the waiting area outside of the room, and saw most of his friends sitting in chairs or on the ground. They were doing assorted things, but their faces were emotionless._

_"Is she in there?"_

_They nodded mechanically in unison, but they didn't look up to see that it was Ryan Evans. "You need to sleep!" again, they nodded in unison._

_He walked cautiously into the room to see Troy and Chad talking with a very fragile-looking Gabriella._

_"Ryan, I didn't know you were coming. How're you feeling, man?" Chad greeted him._

_Ryan laughed, "It was a spur of the moment thing. Hey, G." he said._

_Gabriella smiled, "Hey, Ryan. How _are _you feeling?" even when she was in the hospital she cared about other people._

_"I'm pretty good."_

_Troy coughed loudly._

_"Sorry, Troy," Ryan and Troy both laughed._

_Sharpay walked in the room, "Picture time!"_

_Chad and Ryan walked out together while Troy helped Gabriella. When they got out into the hallway, everyone was already posing for the picture._

_"Okay, one, two, three… cheese!"_

…

…

_A picture may not last forever_

_But the memories that come with it_

_Are as uncharted as the heavens_

The memory flashed through their minds, painfully, but quickly. It was the poem engraved upon Caitlyn's grave. She had always wanted to be a photographer, but she died too young to pursue her dreams.

…

…

_Ten minutes later, Gabriella was alone in her room taking a nap. Sharpay was teaching Chad how to use the camera, Kelsi and Jason were playing a board game, Troy had gone down to get dinner, and Taylor was reviewing Zeke's new recipe. Ryan, however, was sitting against the wall of the lobby, quietly crying with his head in his hands._

_He was crying for the pain he had caused, for everything he had done wrong, and for being afraid to fall, fall for his friends. Now he knew that he had been living in his own self-absorbed dream, a cloud of protection from the harshness of reality. While Gabriella, who wasn't afraid, had lived a life so far from his own, it didn't seem to him that the two lives could appear in the same world._

**SNAP**

_"Chad, you were looking at the ground; I said to focus at the table that was round!"_

…

…

Gabriella said to Ryan, "When you can't bear to look back…"

Everyone else joined in, "look forward, and when you feel like you're falling, I'll be there to catch you."

**As/n: Please review, but no flames! Thanks.**

**CoCoPixie134 & ShanCoot2**


	6. Chapter 6

As/n: The camp in this chapter is based off a camp that we went to called Camp Lakewood. I suggest going. It' so much fun. This is going to be a long chapter but you'll know when the big part comes up, a lot of dialogue too.   
Chapter 6 Jump In 

The page was flipped leaving behind the memory of fright and pain and opening to a new remembrance of sorrow and love. It was fate that that page should open because all these years, as the book was covered with dust and left to be forgotten so was this memory, so cruel yet so loved.

It was a huge page, filled with pictures of the whole gang, all in what seemed to be camp counselor worthy outfits. Which was a good thing… they were camp counselors. But there was one picture that stood out to everyone. It was Chad and Taylor, soaking wet, heading towards their cabin holding hands. Everyone "awwwww"ed but Taylor remained silent. She could still feel the horror she had felt just moments before this photo was snapped…

…

…

_"Come on, Shar!" Jason bellowed. "Get in the bus!"_

_"Do I really have to sit in a bus for six hours?" Sharpay whined, pouring hand sanitizer all over the railing leading up the bus steps._

_"Yeah," Taylor said. "Unless you'd rather walk there."_

_"And judging by your shoes, I'd say you don't want to," Kelsi teased._

_Sharpay grumbled something about "stupid nature" and sat huffily in a brown faux leather seat, hardly daring to touch any of it. For the summer, she and Ryan were "cut off" from credit cards and had to do this unknown thing to the Evans twins called "work". Ryan didn't really care but Sharpay had blown a gasket and screamed her head off until her father promised her a trip to the mall at the end of the summer, he'd pay._

_Everyone else… they were headed to Camp Lakewood for money. Summer had started and they were spending the first month of it in a bug infested, nature filled, God forsaken area of land six hours outside of Albuquerque. They would be teaching archery, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, sports, and just about every other thing imaginable. _

_"Oh my gosh," Troy groaned, running a cut up hand over his tired face. (He and Chad had done something **fun** to bring in the start of summer… they jumped off of Troy's roof and Troy landed in a holly bush. Chad landed, well, nowhere. He didn't jump but he did push Troy off with a laughing face. That was before Troy hit the ground.) _

_They had all woken up at five in the morning to catch a 5:30 AM bus to Camp Lakewood. Troy had taken the liberty to pick everyone up in a van and have his father drive them to the bus port._

_"What?" Gabriella asked, a sense of dread falling on her. Troy was holding the "BE A HAPPY CAMP COUNSELOR AT CAMP LAKEWOOD" pamphlet._

_"God," Troy said, bringing the pamphlet to his eyes. "Listen to this: To be a happy counselor, you must do the following: always have a smile, have experience with children, **choose a camp nickname**…"_

_"Are you serious?" Zeke asked in a hollow voice._

_"Yeah," Troy said and then he laughed. "Look at some of the choices: Green Bean, Jemima, Peaches… The list goes on forever."_

_"I swear to you, if some little munchkin tries to call me **Green Bean** I'll bite them," Chad said, throwing himself into a seat._

_"Don't worry," Jason said, throwing himself next to Kelsi. "I'll try to give him rabies."_

_"Guys, come on," Gabriella said, seating herself next to Troy. "I'm sure the camp has some reason to make us have nicknames."_

_"Yeah. They probably want Chad to become a rabid green bean or something," Troy said absentmindedly, flipping through the pamphlet._

_"I think they **want** me to kill them," Ryan said, turning around in his seat next to an apparently annoyed Sharpay. "If someone expects me to take the name **Ninja Warrior**, I think I might stab them."_

_"No weapons allowed," Troy said distractedly still, scanning the pages._

_"Fine, I'll strangle them," Ryan said. "Anything against having **hands** in that pamphlet?"_

_"Nope. But you are allowed to hurt any of the kids," Troy said, not taking his eyes off the book, as if it were the most engaging thing in the world._

_"What about counselors?" Jason asked, hitting Troy hard across the head and stealing the book._

_"I resent that," Troy said, turning to watch the window._

_"I resent the name **Buttercup!"** Taylor said, looking at the pamphlet. "Who **makes up** these names?"_

_"The kids," Gabriella explained. "They stick it in a suggestion box."_

_"I hate kids," Sharpay moaned, throwing her jacket over her head._

_"Yeah, well, you better start to like them or you'll end up with the name Fruit Loop," Kelsi said._

_Everyone, even Gabriella (who was normally very optimistic), groaned. This was going to be a **long** month._

_After three days of training, camp started up and everyone was assigned their cabins. Gabriella and Troy shared a group of nine girls name Paula, Lucy, Alana, Ali, Courtney, Claire, Katie, Katherine, and Shannon. They were a cute group of 12-13 year old girls whom everyone wanted to counsel. They were fun, funny, and not to mention, some were experts at camp tricks._

_Then, the dreaded camp nicknames came as so:_

Troy: Snuffles

Gabriella: Twitch

Chad: Crazy

Taylor: Newton

Kelsi: Pinecone

Jason: Froo Froo Le' Bows

Sharpay: Macho Nacho

Ryan: Twinkle Toes

Zeke: Muffin Man

_"**Macho** **Nacho**?" Sharpay cried. "Are you serious?"_

_"What the heck?" Jason said. "**Froo Froo Le' Bows**? I'm not even sure those are words!"_

_"Crazy?" Chad said incredulously. "**Crazy**?"_

_"Looks like they know you already!" Taylor teased._

_"You have Newton?" Gabriella questioned Taylor. "Oh, after Sir Isaac Newton?"_

_Taylor's smile faded and she mumbled huffily, "No. After the fig."_

_"**Fig** **Newton**?" Ryan laughed. "Those things are good!"_

_……………_

_A few days later it was "One Counselor Day". Every counselor in the Explorer Unit (ages 9-13) would get a counselor for the day to hang out with. The gang was very happy. They got to hang out with Troy and Gabriella's cabin._

_"Okay, well, I think Gabi and I should pick first," Troy said. _

_"It **is** our cabin," Gabriella agreed. _

_Everyone else grudgingly agreed and let Troy and Gabriella choose which kid they were with for the day. They pondered this for a while. They were all a very nice group of girls and some all of them seemed to match each one of the counselors they would be faced with._

_"I'll have Shannon," Gabriella said. "She really wants to get help with singing and I know the perfect place to practice."_

_"'Kay. That's fine," Troy said. "Because I want Courtney. She and I are going to the archery range and seeing who can hit the bulls eye the most times, loser has to sleep on the floor for the rest of the month."_

_"Sweet, so I can have Claire?" Chad asked hopefully. "She I are were going to see who could swim backstroke across the lake the quickest. …I think I can beat her!"_

_"Fine, as long as I can go with Paula," Taylor said quickly. "She and I are going to see the Nature center and learn about all the animals together."_

_"Awesome, so Ali and I can go to the rock climbing walls to see if we can make it to the top without someone noticing that we're not in a harness?"_

_"Go ahead, Ryan, as long as Lucy and I can jump by the lodge and get some spa moments, I'm fine," Sharpay said, looking at her badly chipped fingernail polish with a look of dismay._

_"Can I go with Katie?" Kelsi asked timidly. "She and I were going to go on a hike."_

_"Sure, Kels," Jason said. "As long as Alana and I can swing by the arts and crafts center to paint the white wall, I'm fine with anything."_

_"Katherine and I were going to go to the Dining Hall to make some desserts anyway," Zeke said. "So I'm cool."_

_Everyone agreed and all grabbed the child they were going with. Gabriella giggled as Courtney emerged from the bunkroom in basketball shorts and a layered white tee shirts but she stopped when Shannon came out in green shorts and a pink shirt… the exact outfit she was wearing._

_Soon, the day came to an end and the counselors decided to head up to the lake to watch the moon and dip their toes in the glistening water. It was almost silent out except for the hoot of an owl and the chirp of some crickets._

_Chad, Taylor, Troy, and Gabriella were sitting on the end of the dock. Troy was lazily tossing stones into the still lake and chatting with Gabriella about his long night on the floor of the cabin (Yes, he lost to Courtney but Courtney had pity. If you could call it that. But she made him ask Gabriella out instead of sleeping on the floor. Yeah, Courtney saw right through Troy's innocent act. She laughed loudly when Troy was practicing and clapped when he tripped over his own shoes and fell into a mud puddle.)_

_Gabriella laughed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. (Shannon, quiet, little Shannon, made Gabriella flirt with Troy as a dare and by the end of the night she had to kiss him once, hand, cheek, lips, anywhere. If she didn't succeed she would have to swim in the lake at three in the morning and catch a fish with her bare hands.) Gabriella stuck out her hand and pushed Troy playfully. But this was a bad idea because Tory lost his balance and fell off the side of the dock. He fell into the water with a loud splash and resurfaced, spitting lake water from his mouth._

_"You did that on purpose!" He said, bobbing in the water._

_"Oh my gosh, Troy!" Gabriella said. "I'm so sorry!"_

_"Well, just give me a hand out," Troy said with a huge smile plastered on his face. "It's cold in here."_

_Gabriella stuck out her hand. The second Troy's hand latched onto hers Chad screamed, "Gabi, no!" but it was too late. Troy pulled her off the dock and into the cold water._

_Gabriella resurfaced, spluttering for air, teeth chattering. "Troy Bolton! You are dead meat!" _

_"Well, kill me out of the water because it's **freezing**!" Troy said, sticking one foot on the post of the dock and another on the dock itself. He pulled himself up with ease and held out his hand. "Come on. I'll pull you up."_

_Gabriella waded over and took hold of Troy's outstretched hand. Even though they were soaking wet and the wind was blowing a bitter blast of cold air at them, his hands were warm and comforting to grab onto. She felt butterflies shiver down her spine as he lifted her effortlessly out of the icy water._

_"Thanks," Gabriella chattered as a gust of air blew past them._

_"Here," Troy said, picking his (dry) jacket off the dock and wrapping it around Gabriella's shivering form. "Use it until we get to the cabin and grab some towels."_

_She pulled it closer around her. It even **smelled **like Troy. "Thanks."_

_He gave her a wide smile and said, "Don't mention it." They walked along a moonlit dirt path up to the cabin and Troy said, "You look good in green."_

_"Uh... Thanks," Gabriella said._

_"Okay, I know this is going to be weird but, I have to ask you something," Troy said while walking over to a fallen tree trunk and taking a seat on the hard, scratchy bark. "You want to go out sometime? I mean like… you know, after we get out of camp and everything?"_

_Gabriella sat next to him but remained silent. There was **no way **that Troy was asking her out. She had been dying for him to do it for the longest time and now was her chance!_

_"I…"_

_"I knew it was stupid," Troy blurted out. "Forget I even asked."_

_He looked away and stared at his shoes, face glowing in the pale moonlight. Gabriella gave a soft smile, one she thought he would never see but, nonetheless, he did (and it warmed his entire body to see her smile), and she lightly touched his cheek, pulling his face towards hers. She gave him a soft peck on the lips and said, "I'd love to."_

…………………

_Meanwhile, Chad and Taylor were still sitting on the dock, dipping their toes into the water lazily, watching the moon linger overhead and cast its pale light over the quiet landscape._

_Taylor watched Chad as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and sighed, watching the rippling water. His listened to all the animals and the almost inaudible whisper of the air as it whipped through the trees._

_"I love nature, don't you?" He asked. "It's so peaceful and serene. It's like nothing bad'll every happen to you when you're here."_

_"Yeah," Taylor said, shocked that such deep (well, for a guy's standard) words were coming out of his mouth. "It makes you feel like anything can happen when you just sit back and let it just… I don't know… **happen**."_

_"Yeah," Chad sighed. "Well, I'm going to head in. I promised Claire I would tell her the infamous story of Troy's jumping off the roof if she beat me and… she did, so…"_

_"Yeah," Taylor said, wishing he would just stay a little longer._

_"You want to come?" Chad asked._

_"No," Taylor said. "I'm going to stay out here for a little longer. I'll see you back at the cabin."_

_"'Kay," Chad sounded a little disappointed as he headed down the long dock and Taylor called after him, "But when I get back, I think **I'd **like to head the story of Troy's jumping off the roof."_

_Chad smiled and turned around, "You got it!"_

_After Chad had disappeared into the shadows cast by the tall evergreen trees, Taylor turned back around and stared at the water. She sighed as she smelt Chad's ever-so-familiar scent waft through her nose. She let her eyes glance over the water when something hit her eye. Something looked like it was bobbing in the water._

_She bent closer to it and realized it was just a twig but suddenly; she leaned to far forward and fell head first into the water. With a huge splash, she broke the surface and almost hit a fallen tree in the water in surprise. She went to resurface but couldn't. Something was tugging on her leg._

_Her pant leg was caught in one of the branches._

_Desperately tugging at her pant leg, her mind switched to panic and she started to try to wiggle to the surface. Try as she might, Taylor could not free her leg and her lungs were screaming._

_Then, she heard a muffled splash from above her and Chad's face appeared next to hers, tugging at the pant leg. Taylor felt her body slacken as she lost all air and everything went black. _

_Chad watched Taylor's eyes close and he frantically tugged harder. Finally, the pant leg came free and Chad pulled Taylor's almost lifeless form out of the water. He looked hysterically at the dock and at the shore. The dock was too high to reach but the shore was too far away…_

_He looked beside the dock and saw a bobbing canoe in the water. As quickly as he could, he waded over and gently put Taylor inside. He learned how to do CPR in camp training but he never thought he would have to use…_

_He **hoped **he would never have to use it._

_After about a long, almost light-year long, minute, Taylor emitted a deluge of water out of her mouth and gasped for air. Chad let out a sigh of relief and Taylor let out even more water._

_"Thought I had lost you there," Chad said, helping Taylor into the sitting position._

_"Chad," Taylor said. "Oh my God, that was so scary."_

_She leaned her head onto Chad's shoulder and let out a terrified sob. They stayed like this, Chad stroking her hair, until it was well past midnight._

_"Thank you, Chad," Taylor said, wiping her eyes. "For saving my life."_

_"Don't mention it," Chad said._

_"I mean it, without you… I wouldn't… I wouldn't be," Taylor stuttered, hardly able to get the words out._

_Chad silenced her chattering lips with a soft kiss._

_"I wouldn't let you die, Taylor," He said._

_And he meant it._

…

…

"My hero!" Taylor said dramatically and threw her arms around her husband. (They had been married for three months.)

"Yeah," Chad said, planting a kiss on her cheek.

Troy looked over to Gabriella, "I guess that was the night a lot of people got together. I think we have those girls to thank."

**As/n: Hope you liked it. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**As/n: Sorry for the long wait! This chapter is going to be purely humorous, not sad. Thanks for reviewing and reading!**

**Spilt Coffee**

The gang turned the page of the photo album to find another memory. This memory was unlike all of the other memories.

Chad turned to Troy, his face a shade deeper than tomato red, "Do you remember this big guy?"

Troy began to shake with laughter. He was clutching his stomach soon, trying to breathe in between bursts, "How," he burst out laughing, "could I," Troy just couldn't contain himself, "forget about-the-time-I-was-proposing-to-you!," he said in one word. This got the best of everyone. Five minutes later they were rolling on the ground, their eyes watering uncontrollably.

They hadn't noticed that Sharpay had gone out of the room. She now came back with a tray of coffee, "Coffee, anyone?" Once again the friends couldn't contain themselves.

"Who wants to tell it?" Gabriella asked, gasping for breath.

Chad shouted, "I will!"

…

…

Chad walked up to his friend, Troy, who was lost in thought. "Hey!"

Troy whipped around shouting, "Will you marry… oh. Sorry, Chad, I thought you were Gabriella."

Chad sat down next to his friend, "Troy, you need help."

Troy stood up at light speed, "You think?" he yelled, "I'm an idiot! I can't even think of a way to propose to Gabriella! Do you think I should leave a message on her cell phone?"

"What kind of way to propose to a girl is that?"

Troy put his head in his hands, "The desperate way. I need help."

"Okay, let's start out with what you're going to say."

Troy nodded and thought for a moment, "I have no idea."

Chad looked at him in disgust, "Will you marry me? That's the kind of thing you say. Let's practice that," Troy nodded, "Okay, I'm Gabriella, and you're proposing to me. Go."

"Hey, Gabi."

Chad used a girly voice to answer, "Hey there, Troy," it ended up sounding like a southern drawl.

Troy laughed, "Don't laugh, Troy don't-make-me-use-your-middle-name Bolton!" this immediately shut him up, "I know what to say to get my friends to shut up, too, Troy."

"Okay," Troy rolled his shoulders, "I'm ready."

"Go!"

"Gabriella Montez, you are the love of my life. I will protect you in sickness and in health, for rich or for poor…"

"Troy, those are wedding vows! You have to get through the proposal first! That's it. You're on your own. I'm calling Gabriella right now, and you're having lunch at your favorite café."

HSMHSMHSM

Chad was standing next to Troy behind a fake tree in the café. They had just gotten their and were waiting for Gabriella to come.

"You can do this, Troy. There she is."

"I can't do it!"

"You… are the hoops man, the basketball boy, and for goodness sake the freaky callback boy! You can do this!"

Troy walked over to the table, "Hey."

Gabriella got up and gave Troy a hug, "Hey!"

"Let's get some coffee."

Gabriella looked at him questioningly, "You like coffee?"

"Ch… yeah!"

She shook her head, "Okay," and motioned to a waiter, "Coffee please."

"So, how have you been since I last saw you?"

She smiled, "I've been good since yesterday."

The waiter brought the coffee, and Troy began to feel very nervous. _Should I ask her now? Wait, no, she's drinking coffee. Now? Oh, dear Lord, help me! Okay, this is it! Now!_

Troy got up from his seat defiantly, knocking the coffee off the table, but he didn't care. He got up and knelt down in the searing hot coffee. "Gabriella Montez, will you be my lunch-packer?"

She looked at him oddly.

"Will you marry me?"

"Wow. This is really…"

"Hot. Okay, Gabi, you really need to say yes because this coffee is really hot!"

"Yes!" she shouted, "yes, yes, yes time infinity yes!"

Chad smiled from behind the tree.

…

…

Everyone erupted into a fit of "aws" and "oos".

"That was the best proposal a girl could dream of!" Gabriella cooed.

**As/n: yay! There are only a few more chapters left I think. Thanks!**

**(the purple button is pleading for you to press it)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Dad He Knew**

With the mention of the proposal, everyone got to thinking about the wedding to follow it. Troy got to thinking about what his father had to say about it.

…

…

Chad began to hyperventilate, "Troy, is the milk in my refrigerator gone bad?"

"I'm sure it's fine, Chad."

"No it's not; if it goes bad, my refrigerator will stink like your locker!"

"Does my locker really smell bad?"

"Yes! And my refrigerator will begin to smell if I don't get new milk."

"Okay, Chad, as interesting as this is… I'm getting married in, like, ten minutes!"

Chad patted him on the shoulder, "I know, but we don't know about my milk."

They heard the creak of the door behind them opening. Troy spun around, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. But, clear as crystal, there was his father, clad in a tuxedo, waiting to talk to him.

Mr. Bolton cleared his throat, "Uh, Chad, can I talk to Troy for a minute?"

Chad nodded, "Yeah."

"Alone?"

"Yup."

"Without you."

Looking the tiniest bit hurt, Chad said, "Oh yeah. Well, I have to talk to Taylor about the 'milk problem' anyhow," he clapped his friend on the shoulder, "Good luck," then he turned to Mr. Bolton, "Aren't you excited? Our little boy's about to get married!"

"Chad, leave."

"Whatever, my milk (and my wife) are waiting."

Chad shuffled out the door, watching Troy over his shoulder. He shut the door with an echoing bang and hurried down the hall. As Troy's best friend (and best man) he had a hunch about what was going to happen in there… and he wasn't so sure that it was going to end up well.

"So…Dad, what'd you want to talk about?" Troy asked, sitting down on a chair in the corner of the room and pulled one out for his father to sit.

Mr. Bolton ignored the gesture of kindness from his son and began to speak, "You're about to get married, Troy."

"Yeah..." Troy said. "I had thought about that for a minute."

"It's a big decision- to get married, I mean," Mr. Bolton began to look a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I thought about that when I was proposing," Troy said, standing up to meet his father in the middle of the room. He started to get a little worried… His father was _never_ nervous… something had to be wrong, really wrong.

"Look, I don't know if this is such a good idea, Troy," Mr. Bolton said, not meeting his son's eye. "You're too young for all this!"

"Dad, I'm two years older than you when you got married to Mom!"

"That was…different!" Mr. Bolton protested. "You're mother and I were in love!"

"And I'm getting married without being in love!" Troy shouted, sarcastically. "Thanks for the trust in me!"

"I'm just saying… I don't think you're ready for this! I just don't think you're mature enough yet!"

"'Mature enough?'" Troy shouted. "Are you serious?"

Troy was fuming mad. He had spent so long waiting for this day but he had never thought that his father would be so annoyed about it. It was _his _problem, if you could call it a problem! He loved Gabriella and he wanted to get married so why was his father so defiant about it?

"I'll tell you something immature, Dad!" Troy screamed. "Your getting angry at me for liking Gabriella and then going as far as to _hitting _me for it! Your pushing your childhood dreams on me because _you _couldn't make it to the pros in _your _basketball career and then making me feel awful for wanting to do what _I _wanted to do! …If anything, _you're _more immature then I am!"

"Don't say that, Troy!" Mr. Bolton screamed. "I am your _father_ and I think that _I _know whether or not you should get married to this- to this-"

"To this _what_, Dad?" Troy shouted, hot tears forming in his eyes. "To this _Hispanic _girl? Is that what you want to say?" Jack remained silent. "I knew it. You don't want me to get married because Gabriella is Hispanic. Well, Dad, you're just going to have to suck it up because I love her and I'm going through with this marriage whether you want me to or not."

There was a silence ringing through the room as Jack pondered what his son had just said. He was right-that much Jack knew but he didn't want it. He didn't want this marriage, not if he could help it.

"Fine," Jack said. "Just don't expect me to be sitting in that chapel and supporting your _stupid _decision!" He sat there silently for a moment and added, tears filling his blue eyes, "In fact, don't expect me to be in that chapel _at all!_"

He stormed away from Troy and inches from the door he grabbed a vase, sitting on the side table and threw it at Troy's feet. It shattered sending pieces of glass flying around the room. Mr. Bolton looked solemnly at Troy and proceeded out the door, slamming it in his wake.

Troy stood perplexed in the middle of the room, glass shattered at his feet wanting _so badly _to have this day just end so that he could forget everything that happened…

He just wasn't sure that he could.

Troy made his way down the hall, lost in thought. He turned down a long corridor, his feet carrying him towards any destination that they wanted to. Troy didn't mind. He needed to think.

He stood in front of a large oak door and stared up towards the ceiling, taking a deep breath. Troy let it out and pushed the door open. He stood in the midst of a crowd dark blue and shouted over the mass of confusion.

"May I talk to my fiancé please?"

"Troy!" Taylor shouted.

"Get out of here!" Sharpay yelled, using her skinny arms to try to push him out the door with no prevail for Troy was much stronger and bigger. It was much like she was pushing a solid brick wall. "Girls, help me!"

Kelsi, Taylor, and Sharpay all tried to push Troy out the door but Troy stood his ground and they gave up saying, "Fine, you ruin your own wedding!"

"What is all that noise?" Gabriella asked, stepping out from her separate dressing room.

The girls gasped and Troy's mouth almost dropped to the floor as she stepped in front of them. She was absolutely glowing and her radiance was apparent to everyone in the room.

_Why must you be such an idiot, Troy? _Troy thought to himself.

"Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed. "What are you doing in here?"

"We tried to get him to leave!" Taylor exclaimed. "He's just too dang strong!"

"That's my Troy," Gabriella teased.

"Well, it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding!" Sharpay shouted. "But he won't leave!"

"Um, Shar, I think it's fine for my fiancé to see me before the wedding but you guys-" She saw the look on Troy's face and took it as a need to talk alone. "Why don't you guys go check on the guests and uh—don't come back."

"How rude!"

They walked out the door making kissy faces and shouting their good lucks and congratulations. When the door shut, Gabriella gathered her dress around her and sat in the middle of the floor, patting the seat next to her and saying, "So what'd you want to talk about?"

"Uh- how do I say this?" Troy said, taking the bit of carpet next to her. Gabriella made a face and said, "Whenever it starts that way I know it's bad. What's up?"

"I'm having some… doubts," Troy said uneasily.

"Everyone gets cold feet before a wedding, Troy. That's natural," Gabriella soothed, placing her hand in an assuring way on his back.

"No, this isn't cold feet, Gabi," Troy said, taking her hand. "In fact, I've never been so sure about anything in my life."

"Then what's wrong?"

"It's just… it's my dad."

"Why did I know that was why?" Gabriella asked, standing up again. For the first time in a long time she seemed angry. "Why do you care so much about what your dad thinks when it's so wrong?"

"Because he's my dad, Gabriella," Troy said, standing up and following her. "And I don't know what'd I do without him."

"I managed!" Gabriella yelled, tears now falling from her eyes.

"Yes, and I'm proud of you but… my dad- my dad has always been here for me and without his support… I don't think I could do it." Troy sat silently for a second, holding the softly crying Gabriella in his arms. "But I don't know what'd I do without you either. …Why is this so hard, Gabi?"

"Because your dad's an ass," Gabriella said, wiping tears from her eyes.

Troy gave a watery chuckle for he had started to cry too. "True. …You know what? Screw my dad! Let's go get married!"

Gabriella laughed, wiped tears from her eyes and said, "I'd like that!"

…

Gabriella was getting escorted down the aisle by Mr. Danforth as the other men who were supposed either couldn't, or wouldn't. Chad put a reassuring hand on Troy's shoulder and Troy smiled back at him. This was it. He was getting married.

What seemed like hours later, the couple was holding hands in the center of the altar, finishing their wedding vows. A loud bang erupted from the back of the chapel and everyone's heads turned, including the bride and groom's.

In the center of the aisle was Jack Bolton in a tuxedo, staring up at his son.

Troy gave a silent groan. He was _not _about to object to the wedding!

And… no he wasn't. In fact, he spoke to everyone in the crowd, "What are you staring at me for? I already got married. Reverend, keep going. We're paying by the hour."

Troy smiled. That was the dad he knew.

…

…

Everyone broke from their silence and looked up at Gabriella and Troy. Gabriella was smiling broadly with an arm around Troy's waist. But Troy didn't look as happy. In fact, Troy had silent tears spilling down his face and let out a shuddering breath.

Gabriella immediately pulled Troy into a hug and said, "It's alright, Troy. It's going to be okay." Troy didn't speak but instead let a fresh wave of tears fall down his face and he hugged her tightly.

"What would I do without you guys?" He asked, wiping large tears from his face.

"Nothing." They all answered.

**As/n: Okay, we know we're on hiatus but we had time to write and we hadn't updated in a while. So, here you go!**


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